Meat end plate.



OFCE.

'WALLACE B. WOLFF, OF CHICAGO, LLINOIS.

MEAT END PLATE.

Application filed August 9 To QU wlw/n 'it may concer/JL:

Be it known that I, WALLACE B. VVOLFF, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago. in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Meat lnd Plates, of which the followinw `is a specilication.

My iiivention relates to meat end plates for slicingr machines and the like, and has for one object to provide a new and irnproved form of end plate for holding the meat so that it may be fed across or to the -cutting knife with a minimum ot' waste.

imachine.

@ther objects will appear in the specification.

The invention is illustrated more or less diagranunatically in the accompanying drawi ng, whereinlfigure l` is a side elevation of the meat end plate, showing; it in position on a slicing machine. Fig. SZ is a plan view of the end plate, showing a part of the slicing:r ma- Chine.

Like arts are .indicated by like letters tlu'ougrhout the several iigures.

A is a track along which the meat carriage. A1 is free to move beingr propelled hy any suitable means not here shown to reciprocate it toward and from the cutting? knife A2. Mounted on the meat carriage is a fixed 'meat plate A3 corrugated to guide the meat in the usual manner. Slidably mounted on the carriage above this meat plate is a feed plate A4 adapted to be driven by a feed screw A5 engaging a nut A on the plate. Handles A7 are provided whereby the feed plate may be manipulated.

Projecting upwardly inI each ease from the forward edge of the feed plate is a face plate B and it-is'to this face plate that the meat is attached when it is to be out, that -is to say, when the ordinary type of meat clamping plate is no longer available owing Specification of Letters Patent.

i tier.

Patented June 6, 1916.

,1915. Serial No. 44,373.

to the meat having been cut too near the heel. The face plate is apertured as indicated and behind it is located a back plate B1 whose surface is recessed in register with the apertures in the face plate B. Located between the face plate B and the back plate B1 and mounted for rotation are a series of gears B10 in mesh with one another and as shown in Fig. 1 located partially within the recesses in the back plate B1 and partially within apertures in the plate B. Projecting from each of these gears and extending outwardly through the apertures in the face plate are a series of spiral cork screw like hooks B2, which hooks project. in front of and are always located in front of the effective surface of the face plate. These gears are'located in a series of separate vertical. tiers, each gear in the tier being in mesh with the gears above and below it but not in mesh with the gears in any adjacent Thus the adjacent gears rotate in opposite directions. The arrangement ot' the spiral hooks is suoli that when the gears are in the inoperative position before the meat is clamped, the hooks all point toward the knife, and when the meat is applied and the gear is rotated to the clamping position7 theI hooks all point away from the knife, so

that the knife can slide freely over theml without danger of 'catchingr 'on 'any hook which Ymay by ehanceproject out beyond the cutting edge ol. the knife. i^irrang1ed at the top of the meat plate B in mesh with the upper gear of each vertical tier or row of gears, is a rack C free to slide in a horizental plane. The handle C1 is provided for moving this rack back and forth to rotate the gears. This rack can move a suflicient distance lto rotate each gear through an angle of approximately 1800.

lt will be understood that the feed plate rests more or less freely on the vguide plate, sothat it may he withdrawn at the will .of the operator, who lifts it olf or puts iton hy holding the handles A7. The nut. A is held hy a screw D on the lever D1, which leveris pivoted as at D2 on the plate adapted to be controlled by al ma nipulating thumbpiere ll to thrust it toward 1 or from the screw to thrust tlie nut into or out of engagement with the screw Ar'. This nut may he moved slightly with respect to the lever, in order to provide for a dillerent arrangement or ad'iustmeut of the screw or different positions of the different parts` thus enpaire il, n "opposition lo e. lu.;Y i on the. part il. This lng;- should. he locked in opA posilion lo the par@ l'l. in lhis lug is irren: th ended n si or ,lop sereu' W which is l; si.

proiided 'u'ilh ii lo l nul ltk smid screw lE heiug iidnpl'ed lo po, fi 'elj" arrest the progA ross of 'the l'zif'e pluie l wird lhc lin Whe hc medelerniiued liinil; ol nloion ons been rcnehed.

l will he evident lhzrii while l have Shown iu my' drawings nu opernl'ii'ig, device, still nuiny chung; inighl` he illude in size, hupe und urz-enf .nient, wlhou departing; iron;

in f inrenlion,

'l`he :neulihooler posh. rlirertirins. :ind since the); must ull eue lhe meel, ure sonic oil theiu rightl'l', hul :iro ill olf rhein spiral ind :ill of ien; rolnliix'ely mounted.

The use zuid operation ol my invention e re :le ,lollmrs-flfhe rncli is so manipulated :is lo turn all the gears lo hring` the holding' hooks into n position pointing toward he knife. The operator lhen brings the piece of inout ino coniuclv with the lince plate, und pulls ilv mm3' from the knife, holding it still in conhie'i willi die pluto.v rlhis causes the holding hooks lo grip the nient. The ruehr if: lhon lhroe'n hncli ilo rotule @zich of these hooks lhrouggh :in zrngle el' 150G, emisine the hooks lo penelrnio inlo Vlhe meel in n 1cofuserei; like nurnner, :ind druw it up close upon the nievz pluto. it will he noted that euch oi lhe Q,'eurs comes :i little shorthnnded, olhers l of heinD4 llush willi the surlzice ol" the meal;

' w| 1. l \-L l r11 pluie, lhus reliving' :i sughi; :iper-nue. lne ,:orlrsoreiw' inolion el lhe hooks, druwnig frs il dos lhe inenl. inwardly against the plate, lends to draw die meel. down into each one of' these apertures. The resull'y is that the helifl on lhsl p i rie/inziet inoveineniv/ni' l'rm iL io is ",on L

i. ht angles lo lhe sui luce liliereol Lhe holilhnf; hooks alloue, hot is nulli een men" s reelion parallel with une thereof, holzh hifi-lie helling; s luiuselves und hv lhew'zicl lhzr'u pziil: f surface :ii-e drawn. inlo lhe holes end hus held by gered e o'l lhe plate itself.

point in the Seine when he furled, the hr1 h or other plate is lo he el cleunim,T ineinhii-r will he 'loi-cci-L elong 'alle pluto in 'd sinne i l he no inter 'eclion ns the hooks leed screw. Therefore, I provide ineens for changing Yihe ell'ectiive position of the screw conhxcliini` not with respect to the ineatphite, :md lhis :u'lliusliuent takes the forni of e slot engaged hi' :i screw which holds the nut udiusi'uhlj.' in position on the lever.

Furthermore, in order to limit the Outu'iu'd movement of the falce phde and prei'enl its coming;l in actual contact with the huile, the slop is used. The operator when he uiu'lerlnlzes to fil the face plate to his slicing nmehine, places the foce plaie on the nient plete und n'ioves this plete :is fr forward iis po hle without ln'ingin, I the hooks inl'o nchod contact with the cutting knife. Vl lc lhen up the etop screwLSo that it con niels the stop which is'prei'iousl)7 on the nmchine, -ixnd thus ellectunllv limits the ap'- thread, movinghnel or forward ns the case v muy' he., und the operator tightens up the screw, :1nd the machine is ready for opera- Jcion.

l chiiin;

l. i\ slicing machine. comprising n rotating knife, :i curringe, :i ineens Jfor reciproenting it loivnrd und from the knife edge in :i plane perpeiuliculnr to the axis of the knife, a, nient end plete mounted on the carriage, n ineens for feeding it toward the plane olI the knife, :i series of spiral rotai-A tuhle nient holding" hooks projecting from the end plate toward the plane of the knife, und ineens lfor rolnling' all of said hooks to point toward he kuile edge when in the inoperative position, and menus for rotating ill of chem lo pointv nwny from the knife edge te held the, ment.

2. A inout end plate for slicing machines mid the like comprising; :L plane ment ensur'idnce, n series oif moet holding hooks projectingforwardly therefrom arlranged in parallel separate columns, means for rotating; all of said hooks in unison, and adjacent hooks in opposite directions to engage :ind draw the meat against Jdie plane surface, the hooks being arranged to all 'point in lilie sume direction When in the inthereof, spiral meat their points pointed in the same direction, said hooks being free to move only in a direction parallel to the plane of the plate.

4. A meat end plate for slicing machines and the like, comprising a meat holding surface, a series of gears arranged on one side thereof, spiral meat holding pins carried thereby and projecting through onto the other Side of the plate, said gears being arranged in parallel columns, each gear being in mesh with the gear on either side of it, and means for driving one gear in each column to rotate the other gears in such column.

5. A meat end plate-for slicing machines and the like, comprising a meat holding surface, a series of geaisarranged on one side holding pins carried thereby and projecting through onto the other side of the plate, said gears being arl ranged in parallel columns, each gear being 'in mesh with the gear on either side of it,

and means for driving one gear in each column to rotate the other gears in such column, the meat hooks on alternate gears being respectively right-handed and left-handed.

' 6. A meat end plate for slicing machines' and the like, comprising ameat holding surface, a series of gears arranged on one side thereof, spiral meat holding lpins carried thereby and projecting through onto the other side of the plate, said gears being arranged in parallel columns, each gear being in mesh with the gear on either side of it, and means vfor driving one gear in each column to rotate the other gears in such colum'n,

in mesh with one gear in each column andmeans for reciprocating said rack.

7. A meat end plate for slicing machines and the like, comprising a meat holding surface, a series of gears arranged on one side thereof, spiral meat holding pins carried thereby and projecting through onto the other side of the plate, said gears being arranged in parallel columns, each gear being the driving means comprising a rack in mesh with the gear on either side 'of it, and means for driving one gear in each column to rotate the other gears in such column, the meat hooks on alternate gears be ing respectively right-handed.

and lefthanded, the driving means vcomprising a rack in mesh with one gear in each column and means for reciprocating said rack.

8. The combinationwith a slicing machine comprising a cutting knife, a carriage and means for reciprocating it toward and from the knife in a plane parallel to the plane of the knife, the carriage and means for feeding it along the carriage in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the knife, a series of spiral meat holding hooks rotatably mounted on and projecting from the end plate. and means for rotating them to bring them into engagement with the meat with their points pointing away from the cutting knife when the carriage is at the commencementof its travel toward the knife.

9. A meat holder for slicing machines and the like comprising a face plate, a series of cork screw like meat holding hooks projecting forwardly therefrom and held against a meat plate carried by movement along a line perpendicular to the Y I position all point v In testimony whereof, I ailix my signature in the presence of two witnesses this 5th day of August, 1915.-

WALLACE B. WOLFF. Witnesses:

GENEVA HIRTH, ELLA 'f1-HEME. 

